Rotatable bobbin and tethered spinning object

ABSTRACT

A bobbin rotatably mounted on a handle and upon which a cord may be caused to wind and unwind as well as caused to spin upon itself to effect the spinning of an object fastened to the outer end of the cord, the object being susceptible to controlled constant and variable flights and other maneuvers.

1 1 W l llited 18m tent 1191 1111 3,858,348

town 1 Jan. 7, 1975 [5 RoTATABLE BOBBIN AND TETHERIED 3,287,846 11/1966Frangos 46/61 SPINNHNG 3,717,949 2/1973 Radovan...

3,724,121 4/1973 Atkins 46/61 [76] Inventor: Paul L. Brown, 982 LakevlewWay,

Redwood City, Calif. 94062 22 Filed; Nov. 9 973 Primary Examiner-AntonO. Oechsle Assistant Examiner-Marvin Siskind [2]] Appl. No.: 417,291

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.219,776, Jan. 21,

1972, Pat. No. 3,834,069. [57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl. 46/61, 46/67 Abobbin rotatably mounted on a handle and upon [51] Int. Cl A6311 1/32which a cord may be caused to wind and unwind as [58] Field of Search46/47, 60, 61, 65, 67, well as caused to spin upon itself to effect thespinning 46/70, 71, 73, 62, 63 of an object fastened to the outer end ofthe cord, the object being susceptible to controlled constant and [56]References Cited variable flights and other maneuvers.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,384,972 7/1921 Sandstrom 46/70 7 Claims, 9Drawing Figures Patented Jan. 7, 1975 3,858,348

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ROTATABLE BOBBIN AND TETHERED SPINNING OBJECT Thisapplication is a continuation-in-part of my copending application, Ser.No. 219,776, filed Jan. 21, 1972, now US. Pat. No. 3,834,069 andentitled Hand Manipulated Toy, and pertains to an invention directed toa toy embodying means for effecting different and an increased number ofmaneuvers over and above the maneuvers that can be accomplished by theinvention disclosed and claimed in my aforesaid co-pending application.

For example, the hand manipulated toy of the aforesaid co-pendingapplication can be so handled as to flip the suspended ball to the leftand to the right as well as out in front and side, with double flips andmultiple flips in the same and opposite directions; it can be shiftedfrom one hand to the other while the object is in motion in orbit; itcan accomplish single and alternate under-leg passes as well as rearpasses; it can be manipulated so as to cup the ball in the hand; and itcan be handed-off to other persons while the object is in motion withcentrifugal or other motion. The flightcontrolled toy of the presentinvention can be played with to accomplish not only all of the foregoingactions but also to jump the fence using the arm or hand as a simulatedfence; it can accomplish an around the May Pole attitude from low tohigh levels while in motion; it can be powered in a roll on the floor orother flat surface; it can accomplish a Figure 8 while in controlledmotion; it can rock back and forth in a single or Rocka-bye baby motion;it can fly over the Rainbow; it can be controlled in a deep sleep whilespinning; it can walk up on arm; it can accomplish a whip action withconsecutive lashes; it can provide a flexible shaft spin as well as anoverhead roll; and it can develope a series of geometric patterns allunder the control of a person playing with the toy. Accordingly, myimproved toy illustrated and described therein has the capacity ofdeveloping concentration of the mind; developing muscular toning andcoordination; and at the same time providing an amusing as well as aneducational toy for the enjoyment of all.

A primary object of my present invention is to provide aflight-controlled toy which has the capability of accomplishing amultiplicity of different and increased number of maneuvers therebyenhancing the entertainment value thereof.

Another important object of the invention is to provide aflight-controlled toy of the indicated nature which is additionallycharacterized by and affording the playing of an increased number ofdifferent games by one player or a plurality of players each maneuveringa separate and like toy.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a flight-controlledtoy of the aforementioned character which includes means for rendering asuspended object into a simulated deep sleep and susceptible to easychange-over to flight maneuvers and vice-versa.

Another object of my present invention is to provide a flight-controlledtoy which additionally is readily converted to a controlled spinning inthe manner of a spinning toy top.

Other objects of the invention, together with some of the advantageousfeatures thereof, will appear from the following description of anembodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings andexemplifying the best mode of construction of the invention and themanner of using the same. The appended claims are intended to cover theembodiment illustrated as well as variations thereof within the scopeand purview of my invention.

Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an embodiment of the presentinvention; this view showing the assembled toy in position for graspingand initiating flight and other manuevers.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevational view of theembodiment of FIG. 1; this view showing the rotational mounting of thebobbin.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged frontal view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 taken inthe direction indicated by the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; this view showing thesleep slot of the outer flange of the bobbin and in :full lines aportion of a cord wound upon itself on the hub or shaft of the bobbin.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the outer flange assembly ofthe bobbin of the embodiment of FIG. 1 showing the feeder groove in thebobbin hub for facilitaring the feeding and mounting of the initial andreplacement cords supporting the object thereon.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional elevational view of one type of objectwhich can be suspended on the cord of an embodiment of the invention,such type of object being illustrated in full lines and side elevationin FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a reduced perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 withperspective views of the right and left hands of a player; this viewillustrating the manner of initiating play action, with an arrowindicating the initial downward thrust of the cord suspended object.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view in full and dash lines of theembodiment of FIG. 1 with a hand grasping the handle; this view showingin full lines one flight position of the cord and supported object andby'means of a small arrow the direction of the flight, and also showingin dash lines a series of flight positions of the cord and object.

FIG. 8 is a composite view of the: embodiment of FIG. 1 showing inreducedside elevation the toy, with object omitted, in a horizontalposition and also showing in front elevation the cord-suspended objectin a sleep position spinning on a flat surface with the hand holding thehandle of the toy in a vertical position and the cord spinning in apattern effected by the actuation thereof.

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the assembled toy.

One embodiment of my present invention in a flightcontrolled toycomprises a handle, a bobbin mounted for rotation on said handle andconsisting of a relatively large inner flange and a relatively smallouter flange having a radial slot therein, together with a single strandcord connected at its inner end to said bobbin, and an object fastenedto the outer end of said cord; said object being adapted to be movedeither in a succession of orbital flights of constant radius about saidbobbin or to be moved in orbital flights of variable radii with respectto said bobbin by manipulation of said handle held by a player inhorizontal positions with said cord winding upon and unwinding from thehub of said bobbin as well as being adapted to enter a sleep attitude byshifting said handle and the hand of a player to vertical positionswhile simultaneously causing said cord to enter and remain in saidradial slot of said outer flange of the bobbin.

As particularly illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the annexed drawings myimproved flight-controlled toy comprises four main elements and includesa handle 11, a bobbin 12, a cord 13 and an object 14. The handle 11 maybe fabricated from wood, as shown, and is so formed as to provide acentrally located cavity 16 therein for receiving a press-fitted spindle17 upon which the bobbin 12 is mounted for relative rotational movementwith respect to handle 11. The inner end of handle 11 is preferablybevelled to facilitate the threading or feeding of the cord 13 onto thebobbin, including replacement cords whenever desired; such bevelledportion of handle 11 being designated by reference numeral 18 andmerging into an inner flat face 19.

In accordance with the present invention the bobbin 12 of the assemblyis specially constructed so as to provide generally an inner relativelylarge flange 21 and an outer relatively small flange 22 which areconveniently fabricated from a suitable plastic material, such as a ureacondensate or a phenol condensate, in separate but connectable units oras an integral molded unit. As shown, the inner flange 21 is formed witha bevelled periphery 23 merging into a flat inner face 24 and isprovided with an outer opening 26 for passing handle 11 that is boundedby an annular metal rim 27 to lend a peripheral gyroscopic weightthereto. The specially constructed outer flange 22 is formed with aradial slot 28 therein extending from a central opening 29 to theperiphery 31 of the flange through which it opens to the exterior of theflange thus providing an entrance 32 to the radial or sleep slot 28.Outer small flange 22 carries an integral axle 33 through which thespindle 17 passes and which is so formed as to provide a shoulder 34thereon which engages the flat inner face 24 of inner flange 21 to spacethe outer flange therefrom and to define a hub 36 upon which and fromwhich the cord 13 is wound and unwound within the relatively narrowformed channel 37 between the flat inner face 24 of inner flange 21 andthe flat inner face 38 of outer flange 22. It is to be observed, byreference to FIG. 3 that the cord 13 winds upon itself over the hub 36in a stacked manner within the channel 37, as shown by the full lines ofFIG. 3, thereby assuring smooth and uniform action in the winding andunwinding of the cord 13 on the hub of the bobbin as well as preventingfouling thereof.

It is to be noted that the axle 33 is formed with a straight or flatinner face 33 having a central passage therein communicating with thecentral passage of the axle through which the spindle 17 is passeduponassembling the bobbin 12 and mounting of the bobbin for rotation onhandle 11. Also, that the spindle 17 is formed or cast with a head 17'thereon which abuts the outer flat face 35 of the axle 33 and holds theconfronting inner flat faces 19 of handle 11 and the inner flat face 33of the axle in spaced apart relation to permit unimpeded rotation ofbobbin 12 relative to the handle 11.

With further reference to the bobbin construction, I provide meanstherein for allowing easy feeding or threading of the cord 13 intooperative position fastened at its inner end to the bobbin and retainedthereon by means of a simple knot 39. This easy feeding, of course,covers not only the initial cord 13 as one element of my improved toybut also all replacement cords. The outer flange 22 of the speciallyconstructed bobbin 12, accordingly, is so formed as to provide a groove41 in the bobbin axle 33 which extends for the length of the axle andopens at one end into the central opening 29 in outer flange 22 andopens at its other end to the space afforded by the opening 26 of innerflange 21. The outer end of cord 13, prior to mounting the object l4thereon, is readily slipped through the formed groove or passage 41 andextended through the central opening 29 of outer flange 22 until theknot 39 on the inner end of the cord 13 engages the inside of the flatinner surface 24 of inner flange 21 adjacent to the passage 41 to thussuspend the cord 13 on the bobbin. Should the cord 13 at any time becomedamaged and need replacing, it can easily be withdrawn by inserting thefingers of a hand into opening 26 of the flange 21, grasping the knot 39and pulling the damaged cord 13 out of the central opening 29 of outerflange 22 through groove 41 of axle 33 and through opening 26 of theinner flange after first disengagingthe object 14 from the outer endthereof. A replacement cord 13 can then as easily be inserted andsuspended from the bobbin.

While the cord 13 can be made of any desired material and to anindeterminate length with woven or twisted strands, I preferablyconstruct the cord 13 to a single strand and utilize braided nylon ofround crosssection to avoid unraveling thereof inasmuch as the cordduring the playing with the toy is twisted both clockwise andcounter-clockwise. Preferably, the braided nylon employed should be ofsuch strength as to withstand up to a 50 pound weight suspended thereonin order to prevent breakage thereof. The cord 13 conveniently is ofround cross-section so that it will readily stack itself in convolutionsupon the hub 36 of the bobbin, see FIG. 3, thus lending itself to smoothwinding and unwinding from the hub as well as reducing to a minimum thelikelihood of fouling thereof during the playing of any game with thetoy.

In accordance with the present invention, I provide for suspension oncord 13, a specially fabricated generally disclike object 14, as moreparticularly illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5 of the annexed drawings,simulating the so-called flying objects which appear to be moving inspace. Preferably the object 14 of my present combination is formed toan inversely conical shape with a tapering point 51 on which it may bemade to spin on a flat surface 52 such as a side-walk or a dwellingfloor whenever the object is lowered to such surface while the toy ismanipulated so as to spin the cord 13. It is to be appreciated, however,that the object 14 can be constructed to a spherical shape, such as asolid or hollow rubber ball of the general type shown in my co-pendingpatent application, Ser. No. 219,776, entitled Hand Manipulated Toy,which can be made to spin or whirl about itself or walk along a surface,or which can take in oval shape or other shape, as desired. It is to befurther appreciated that the wave pattern created in the twirling orspinning cord 13, as indicated at 53 in FIG. 8, is somewhat similar tothe convoluted or sine waves formed by the power-driven cord employed inthe toy described and claimed in my US. Pat. No. 3,545,126, entitledVibratory Multi-Wave Toy, issued to me on Dec. 8, 1970.

In order to effect removable suspension of the object 14 on cord, aswell as to removably attach the object 14 to the bobbin 12 to afford acompact unit for ready packing and carrying about the toy, I preferablymold the object 14 from a urea or phenol condensate or from a low impactpolyethylene or the like to provide disclike structure including a flattop having a central opening 56 and down-turned extremities 57. Asparticularly illustrated in FIG. 5 of the annexed drawings, the disclikeobject is surmounted with a hollow cylindrical boss 58 which merges withthe top of the disc and the wall 59 of which bounds a cavity 60 thatcommunicates with the opening 56. The inside of wall 59 of boss 58 isformed with an annular recess 61 therein for receiving the periphery 31of the outer flange 22 of bobbin 12 when the object 14 is press-fittedand removably mounted on such flange for easy portability of the toy asa unit, as well as for easy packaging. The molded construction of theobject 14 of my present invention is such that an annular bead 62 isformed on the top of the disc and bounds the opening 56; such head 62serving to effect the removable mounting of a metal coupler 63 whichgives gyro weight to object 14 and which is fashioned with a cooperatingannular recess 64 in its outer wall for the reception of the annularhead 62. As shown, the coupler 63 is provided with a through passage 65in which a flanged sleeve 66 is fitted and supported; such sleeveserving to pass the cord 13 which is extended through the cavity 60 ofthe boss 58 and knotted as at 67, to hold the object 14 thereon. Tocomplete the structure of the suspended object in order that when it islowered to a flat surface it can be made to spin, the tip 51 is providedwith a pointed lowermost extremity 68, and in order to gain access tothe knot 67 of cord 13 whenever it is desired to replace a used cordwith a new one, I form an annular recess 69 in the inner wall of coupler63 for receiving an annular bead 70 on outer wall of the tip 51 when thetip is snap-fitted into a retained position on the coupler 63.

It is to be observed that when the object 14 has been manipulated into acruising or sleeping attitude by flipping of the wrist of the personholding the handle 11 from a horizontal to a vertical position asindicated in FIG. 8 of the annexed drawings, the spinning cord 13 actsas a flexible shaft and imparts'an inertia spinning of the sleeve 66which, in turn causes the object 14 to spin inasmuch as the sleeve 66has frictional engagement with the gyro-weight coupler 63. While in thiscruising or sleeping attitude, the tip 68 of the object can be loweredto a smooth surface, as indicated at 52 in FIG. 8, such as a tile orhardwood floor of a dwelling or a concrete walk or the like, to causethe object 14 to spin as a toy top with a developed or generatedeccentric pattern 53 in cord 13 and with a portion of the cord in thesleep-slot 28 of the outer flange 22 of bobbin 12. Moreover, it will befurther observed that changes in attitudes of the object 14 from variouslong and short orbital flights, as indicated both by the arrow 71 inFIG. 7 and the various dash-line positions of the cord 13 and object 14in this same view, to the sleep attitude shown in FIG. 8 and vice-versa,can be effected with ease and by the dexterity of the person playingwith the toy. Thus, by flipping of the wrist of the person grasping thehandle 11, from horizontal to vertical positions and vice-versa, thecord 13 may be caused to enter sleep-slot 28 of outer flange 22 to bringthe object to a sleep attitude, see FIG. 8, and with another flip of thewrist bring the cord 13 out of the sleep-slot 28 and cause it to enterany one of a variety of flight attitudes or variety of flight-controlledorbital positions with the suspended object 14 moving about throughspace in a manner somewhat like the so-called unidentified flyingobjects, all within the increasing skill and dexterity of the personplaying with the toy; the person thus developing a keen sense of timingwhile having more and more fun with others also playing with the toy.The initial action of each of the flights is indicated by the arrow 72of FIG. 6.

I have found it desirable for most effective performances in controllingboth the orbital flights and the sleep attitude of the object 14 to :soconstruct and assemble the various components of my flight-controlledtoy as to provide that the total weight of the object 14 isapproximately 67 to percent of the weight of the bobbin 12 with itsattendant components. That is to say, if the weight of the latter isapproximately grams, the object 14 should weigh approximately 67 to 70grams; such ratio being similar to the weights of the generally sameelements of the hand'manipulated toy described and claimed in myaforementioned copending patent application, Ser. No. 219,776.

The appended claims are intended to cover the invention in all of itsexemplifications as well as the numerous attitudes attainable by theobject 14 during flight-controlled movements thereof.

I claim:

1. In a flight-controlled toy, a rotatably mounted bob bin comprisingopposed flanges of which one flange has a central opening therein and aradial slot therein communicating with said central opening andextending through the periphery thereof, a cord attached at its one endto said bobbin and windable thereon, said cord being adapted to heslipped through said radial slot into said central opening of said oneflange, and an object secured to the other end of said cord.

2. In a flight-controlled toy as set forth in claim 1, and a shaftconnecting said opposed flanges, said shaft having a straight passagetherein communicating at its one end with said central opening of saidone flange and extending at its other end through the periphery of saidshaft; said straight passage serving to pass said flexible cord, and aknot on said cord to limit the feeding of said cord through said passageand to retain the same on the other of said flanges.

3. In a flight-controlled toy including a flexible cord and an objectfastened thereto, a. rotatably mounted bobbin comprising opposedconnected flanges of which one flange has a central opening therein anda radial slot therein communicating with said central opening andextending through the periphery thereof, and means for effectingrotation of said bobbin to cause the winding and unwinding of saidflexible cord onto and from Said bobbin to move said object intovariable orbital paths and to cause said flexible cord to enter saidradial slot and remain in said central opening of said one flange tochange the flight of said object to a sleep attitude and vice versa.

4. In a flight-controlled toy as set forth in claim 3, and a hub on saidouter flange arranged in a space between the inner flat surfaces of saidopposed flanges, and means for causing said flexible cord to wind itselfupon said hub in a stack of convolutions to effect smooth winding andunwinding of said flexible cord under controlled flight attitudes ofsaid object.

5. In a flight-controlled toy as defined in claim 2, and means on saidobject to effect spinning thereof on a surface during sleep attitudesthereof and the spinning of said flexible cord.

wherein said object comprises a hollow cylindrical boss, a couplerhaving a central passage therethrough removably mounted within saidboss, and a sleeve fitted into the central passage of said coupler forpassing said flexible cord; said sleeve effecting rotation of said bossby frictional engagement with said coupler upon rotation of saidflexible cord.

1. In a flight-controlled toy, a rotatably mounted bobbin comprisingopposed flanges of which one flange has a central opening therein and aradial slot therein communicating with said central opening andextending through the periphery thereof, a cord attached at its one endto said bobbin and windable thereon, said cord being adapted to beslipped through said radial slot into said central opening of said oneflange, and an object secureD to the other end of said cord.
 2. In aflight-controlled toy as set forth in claim 1, and a shaft connectingsaid opposed flanges, said shaft having a straight passage thereincommunicating at its one end with said central opening of said oneflange and extending at its other end through the periphery of saidshaft; said straight passage serving to pass said flexible cord, and aknot on said cord to limit the feeding of said cord through said passageand to retain the same on the other of said flanges.
 3. In aflight-controlled toy including a flexible cord and an object fastenedthereto, a rotatably mounted bobbin comprising opposed connected flangesof which one flange has a central opening therein and a radial slottherein communicating with said central opening and extending throughthe periphery thereof, and means for effecting rotation of said bobbinto cause the winding and unwinding of said flexible cord onto and fromsaid bobbin to move said object into variable orbital paths and to causesaid flexible cord to enter said radial slot and remain in said centralopening of said one flange to change the flight of said object to asleep attitude and vice versa.
 4. In a flight-controlled toy as setforth in claim 3, and a hub on said outer flange arranged in a spacebetween the inner flat surfaces of said opposed flanges, and means forcausing said flexible cord to wind itself upon said hub in a stack ofconvolutions to effect smooth winding and unwinding of said flexiblecord under controlled flight attitudes of said object.
 5. In aflight-controlled toy as defined in claim 2, and means on said object toeffect spinning thereof on a surface during sleep attitudes thereof andthe spinning of said flexible cord.
 6. In a flight-controlled toy as setforth in claim 2 wherein one of said opposed connected flanges is anouter flange having a periphery of predetermined dimensions, and whereinsaid object comprises a hollow cylindrical boss having an annular recesson the inside of the wall thereof for receiving said periphery of saidouter flange of said bobbin for ready portability and packaging of thetoy.
 7. In a flight-controlled toy as defined in claim 2, and whereinsaid object comprises a hollow cylindrical boss, a coupler having acentral passage therethrough removably mounted within said boss, and asleeve fitted into the central passage of said coupler for passing saidflexible cord; said sleeve effecting rotation of said boss by frictionalengagement with said coupler upon rotation of said flexible cord.